Andre Agassi’s former coach, Brad Gilbert, has heaped praise on Jannik Sinner’s incredible display on his comeback after he earned a near-perfect win against Casper Ruud at the ongoing Italian Open. Sinner cruised to a 6-0, 6-1 win against Ruud, the sixth seed, as he advanced to the semifinals of the clay court tournament for the first time in his career.
The Italian Open has great significance for Sinner as it’s his home tournament and an event that he has not won yet. This year’s edition was of particular significance as it marked his return to the Tour after he was handed a three-month suspension due to doping charges. There were conversations swirling around on whether Sinner would be able to compete at the highest level after such a long break, but the Italian has swatted away the notion by playing some inspired tennis.
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Sinner, who is the top seed at the Italian Open and the world number one, has not dropped a single set so far in his path to the semifinals. He needed just 64 minutes to defeat Ruud and secure his 25th consecutive win, which saw him set up a semifinal clash against Tommy Paul.
Gilbert, who has worked with the likes of Andy Murray, Coco Gauff and led Andre Agassi to six of his eight Grand Slam titles, felt Sinner would have won three to four more tournaments if he had not faced the suspension. Taking to X (formerly Twitter), Gilbert wrote:
“Had Sin City 🌆 not been suspended and definitely didn’t deserve any, he probably would have won another 3-4 tournaments 🏟️ and had a big lead on the race”
Sinner has now won 24 consecutive sets against top-10 players, which is a remarkable feat considering there is only one man who has won more: the legendary John McEnroe. Jannik Sinner will look to keep the momentum going when he takes on Tommy Paul, an opponent he has beaten thrice in their last four encounters.
Jannik Sinner enjoys rest day in style, meets Pope and then attends Coppa Italia final
Perhaps the secret to Jannik Sinner’s stunning show against Ruud was his whirlwind day before that. The 23-year-old had a rest day and he spent it in style by combining two public appearances and a training session, all in a matter of hours.
Sinner began his day by meeting the newly appointed Pope Leo XIV, who is widely known to be a huge tennis fan. The Italian then headed back to the practice courts for a training session ahead of his match against Ruud and was out again later that evening as he attended the Coppa Italia final, where Bologna stunned AC Milan to end their 51-year title drought.
Jannik Sinner has clearly been enjoying his return to the Tour and will aim to keep going as he guns for his maiden title at the Italian Open.
